


Lie Until You Believe It

by KermodeSnowBear



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Art School, College, M/M, Male Ladybug, Reveal, Rule 63, male Chat Noir
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2018-07-11 02:40:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7023877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KermodeSnowBear/pseuds/KermodeSnowBear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ladybug's life is threatened and Chat Noir is determined to become his body guard, if Marin likes it or not. Adrien will go to every length to protect his partner including spying and lying to him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Truth

**Author's Note:**

> This story will be long. The plot is set, I just need to write.  
> I'm currently studying Writing and Publishing at university so I would love to hear any feedback at all. It will make me a better writer and hopefully you'll be reading my books in the future.  
> This chapter helps to build the foundation of Adrien's actions and sets up their friendship and eventual romance.  
> Please let me know how this makes you feel, and enjoy~.

　　“I think someone is trying to kill me.”

　　“When is someone not?” Chat Noir chuckled. He leaned his back against a support beam of the Eiffel Tower as the two heroes watched dutifully over their home and city.

　　“I’m serious, Chat,” Ladybug said from his place with legs dangling over the edge, nearly three hundred meters above the ground. 

　　“Everything is a joke to you, isn’t it?” Ladybug continued with a snap. “This is why I don’t tell you anything.” He pulled one spotted leg up to his chest in a way of awkwardness and gained some comfort in being a smaller target. His shoulders hunched around himself, red and black fabric rippled over tense muscles that had only become knotted more and more in the recent past. Art school was hard enough, but with being a hero on top of that came huge amounts of stress. Then add the near constant threatening presence in Marin’s life, it was starting to become obvious how little he slept.  
　　  
　　“Bug.” Chat Noir scooted across their small platform to sit next to his partner. “I’ll be serious now. Promise. Tell me what’s going on?” His leather tail had fallen flat beside him. It and his flickering ears were always a give away to what the cat was feeling, which now lay against his blond head.  
Ladybug looked across at him, sad and tired eyes scanning Chat’s features. He let out a tiny sigh.

　　“There have been...people who attack me as I walk home after our patrols some nights.” Once he started it all seemed to come out easier than he’d imaged. “Or after akuma attacks. Sometimes they just watch me, that’s the worst part because I get all on edge, I’d rather if they tried to shoot me again because then I’d have something to really worry about instead of letting my imagination get the better of me and--!” 

　　Chat’s arms were wrapped tightly around Ladybug with his blond head buried into the red suit. He was shaking slightly.

　　“Chat?” Ladybug asked softly, untangling his own arms to hug the big cat back.   
“Chat, I’m okay. I can look after myself, you know that.”

　　“How long, Bug?” came the strangled voice that Ladybug could only guess was filled with worry and guilt.

　　“Only a couple...” he started to reply but thought better of the white lie. Chat always deserved the truth from his partner. “Four months. It started back in November.”  
Chat Noir’s arms tightened around Ladybug. “Don’t you dare not tell me anything ever again, you got that?” 

　　Before Marin could reply Chat Noir’s head flew up and their eyes locked. Chat had tears pooling along the mask’s rims under his eyes. “Someone tried to shoot you?!”

　　“Kitty, calm down. I’m okay and I’ve stayed safe.” Ladybug sighed again. “You’re so emotional, Kitty Cat.” He let a hand glide through Chat Noir’s hair in soft strokes. The blond glared lightly at Ladybug but didn’t stop him, only melting into his touch.

　　This was a secret the two shared, the side effects of long term Miraculous wielding. The traits they gained had snuck up on them and they’d only had each other to confide in at the time. Only had the other as an outlet. 

　　Ladybug rubbed at Chat’s scalp with his finger tips and after a few long moments the cat was lost in a series of purrs, his worries soon forgotten for at least the moment. Marin knew he wouldn’t get away with it for long, the instant he stopped petting the cat he would have to explain everything. However this was the easiest way to calm his friend when he got worked up and upset, and Marin hated seeing Chat Noir in so much pain even if he never said as such.

　　“I don’t know much else,” Ladybug said after a long time of petting and scratches. The cat lay his head on Ladybug’s lap as the last of the purrs vibrated under the kind of hug that Marin offered. “It’s every couple of days. Fights or someone following me. They don’t want my Miraculous so I don’t really know what they want from me. But don’t worry, okay? I’ve got my friend to patch me up and she’s awesome and keeping me safe. I’d almost say she’s as good as us, Kitty.” He gave his blond friend a huge smile.

　　“I will worry, Bug,” Chat Noir said as he sat up, their shoulders touched as they looked across as each other. “Almost isn’t good enough.”

　　“Well she is what I have and I can live with that.”

　　“What if you don’t live with that? They seem really dangerous! They might shoot you again or something worse. Let me help.”

　　Marin stilled beneath his mask. “Not happening, Kitty. Sorry.”

　　“Why not? I can walk you close to your home, make sure that you have back up. Be there for you!” 

　　“Because they’re not just following me as Ladybug.” 

　　Chat Noir’s eyes were suddenly wide and filled with absolute horror. Without their armoured suits they were still abnormally strong, however that did nothing against a knife or gun. 

　　“That’s more of a reason to let me help you!”

　　“No, it’s really not, Chat.”

　　“Really? Because I have to wonder what would happen if Paris couldn’t be cured! What if you got hurt or killed and...and... Ladybug I couldn’t do this without you. You’re my best friend and I can’t just sit by and let you put yourself in danger like that!”

　　“That’s not going to happen,” Marin said, but his words were quiet and he could feel the doubt rising up. His shoulders dropped slightly.

　　“That’s not going to happen because you’re going to let me help you,” the cat said and slipped a hand to Ladybug’s shoulder.

　　The blunette boy swallowed back some fear. He wasn’t going to deny he was scared, there was no point when he wore his heart on his sleeve so obviously for everyone to see. But in the very least he could be brave.

　　“You can walk me close to home,” he said softly. “I’m not telling you who I am. No, I’m not putting you in danger too,” he quickly added when Chat Noir started speaking.   
　　  
　　The blond nodded sullenly. 

　　“And you have to trust me that I can look after myself. I have A, she’s amazing. You two are everything to me. Trust her please?” Chat gave another sad nod.

　　“You have to call me if anything happens, in or out-- I should give you my number.”

　　“Chat, that’s not what I meant at all,” Ladybug said while he watched Chat Noir called to his kwami and request access to the pocket that held his phone. He was ignoring Ladybug to look through the phone for his own number.

　　“It’s my private line, there’s no voice mail. No one can look it up anyway, even if you have the number. Perfectly safe. Then you can call me whenever you or someone around you needs backup. I wont question who’s there, I’ll just protect them. No identities, okay?”

　　There was a long pause silence, Ladybug weighing up the risks to the idea. He nodded slowly a few times and retrieved his own phone to save the number.

　　“Thank you, Kitty.”


	2. Deepest Sympathies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CHARACTER DEATH  
> ~Enjoy~

November had been a very cold month. Early and heavy snow had built up around eaves and blocked pathways everyway Nino turned. It was honestly rather surprising to the young man, who scuffed his battered black sneakers through the slush towards his destination. The ankles of his trousers, the ones so itchy and restricting that they were reserved for stuffy events or formal interviews, were very soon sopping wet and soaking his socks.

Nino shivered and huddled further into his one and only not-brightly coloured hoodie, wishing he’d thought to ask his mum for a lift to the cemetery. The only spots of colour that decorated the usually neon teen were the red cap atop his curls, and the medley of bracelets that supported one wrist. The crystal turtle hid between the bands.

The turnout wasn’t great. The man of nearly two hundred didn’t seem to keep many friends and Nino was dreading what it all meant for his future. Of course, he didn’t have time to wonder as he was attempting to comfort the woeful kwami inside his hood while trying not to alert the minister to the fact they weren’t the only ones there. Nino was also trying to desperately not turn into a popsicle amongst the gravestones as the ceremony continued. He shuffled from foot to foot to keep blood flowing as he ignored most of what was being said. He hardly knew the master, had never had a chance to get to know him, and yet everything the minister said seemed wrong, though well-crafted as if by the old man himself in preparation for the inevitable event.

That didn’t seem far from the truth though. Nino had known the old man for less than a month and already knew Fu to be rather a meticulous and well-planned gentleman. The turtle wielder had introduced himself and quickly had Nino studying for his future as the next holder and guardian. Nino had been glad to see the end of school and text books but the gods (and master Fu) had other plans. It had been a whirlwind of information for the poor teen but he’d managed to fit it in around his two jobs and keeping the house clean for his mother. 

Nino had to wonder if Fu knew his end was coming, and how it would come. If Nino had been in his place, he would have begun training his replacement much earlier. 

Had Fu not known then? Had it been luck that the miraculous had been passed mere days before his death? Or, Nino dreaded, had the lack of miraculous magic caused the master’s death?

Nino shivered, however it went unnoticed in the frigid morning air. He had to remind himself that the master’s death had not been natural or magical though. 

"Would you like to say any final words, son?" the civil celebrant asked Nino, breaking him away from his inner thoughts.

"Ahh…" Nino faltered. He didn't have anything prepared. He didn't even know the guy well! But then he heard the smallest of coughs from inside his hood. Nino bowed his head as Wayzz spoke up, the two working together in awkward sync to make it look like Nino himself was talking.

What came out sounded like gibberish, untamed and out of place, but some of the words caught Nino's attention and he remembered them from the texts he'd so recently been pouring over.

Nino's golden eyes flickered up towards the celebrant and he had the decency to mumble an excuse. 

"He was Chinese." 

It wasn't the greatest excuse, and the language was far from Chinese. But the elderly gentleman conducting the funeral hardly blinked.

Nino and Wayzz left shortly afterwards, returning to the master's simple home. It was still a mess; still a daunting task; no longer a crime scene at least.

The police had ruled the invasion as a robbery gone wrong. The home owner involved was well over one hundred, it wasn't a surprise he'd had a heart attack when his home was broken into.

But Nino knew that wasn't the truth. 

Master Fu had reached out to Nino only a few weeks earlier and had told the young man everything he could in that short time. Nino had been sent home every night with more and more to read, to learn everything he could about the miraculouses and the heroes. Fu seemed urgent for some reason, and Nino had never known why.

Then one morning, dragging his feet into the master's home, Nino had found the lifeless form of Fu sprawled in the narrow hall of his home. Wayzz lay on his chest, sobbing violently. He'd called the police as soon as he'd been able to hide everything about magic away and been able to pull Wayzz from the master.

The kwami hadn't left Nino's side since. He hadn't spoken a word about the event except for a few uttered sentences, including how the master had been transformed at the time of his death. Apparently his elderly body couldn't take the magical stress and in the shock, had just given up; all while Wayzz had been connected.

Nino unlocked the door of the man's shop front, now permanently closed, and meandered through to the home at the back. There was still a lot of cleaning to do; the home had been destroyed in the invasion. No one knew what they took yet, but Nino and Wayzz had their suspicions they'd been looking for something magic related. Why else break into a Chinese massage shop and not take any money, yet ransack the home behind? 

Wayzz grew sombre the moment they crossed the threshold, Nino didn't blame him. It wasn't a pretty scene. But Nino worked hard in cleaning up the place. It took him several days to organise and tidy, but within a week after the funeral he had everything back in order and now had the long task of finding what, if anything, was taken.

That took several more days. In that time, he learned even more about the ancient magic, found the late master's will leaving everything he owned to Nino (Wayzz wasn't surprised, and told of how Fu had no living relatives), and eventually exactly what was missing.

Nino sat in a large chair, pouring over a book containing all of the past miraculous holders. The evening had set in but he'd brought the book home to continue in the familiar setting of his tiny apartment that he shared with his mother. He still hadn't told her about the new home and shop he'd suddenly come into. The time would come.

He had more important issues to deal with; like right then he was staring at his best friend's information. That had to be wrong.

Adrien's birthday, height, physical description and even a picture of him dressed in Chat Noir garb accompanied the information. Nino could only stare for several minutes, even as his phone vibrated with a message from the green eyed cat himself.

-I've got tomorrow off!!!!! =^.^= We should catch up!!!-

Nino stared at the innocent message, then back at the book. Then at the message once more.

-sure dude- he replied. That was all he could respond with without divulging he knew!

His best friend was Chat Noir!!!

Nino flicked through the book a few more pages. Another page showed details on the akuma Chat Noir had battled, but the rest of the pages remained blank after that. Odd.

Nino had assumed there would be information about Ladybug there too. He was tempted to wake Wayzz and ask, but the kwami needed rest. So he continued to search for the information, but soon came across an overlooked detail within the book. Several pages had been torn out with great care.

Nino sat up straight. Had this been what the invaders took? It was certainly worth a lot! That kind of information couldn't be public! And no wonder master Fu had died protecting it.

-how bout a sleep over?- Nino messaged Adrien after fumbling for his phone. -I got some real shit to show ya-

-Now? I'm already packing a bag! =^.^=-

"The fucking cat emojis give him away," Nino mused to himself and shook his head, bemused with his friend.


	3. Some Confessions

"You are not going to believe the last few weeks I've had!"

Adrien had arrived at Nino's apartment in less than an hour and quickly received a hug from Aisha, Nino's mother, as well as a spiced hot chocolate before he was allowed to be abducted by the actual person who'd invited him over.

The blond finally fell onto Nino's bed and lounged back on the pillows, as Nino himself settled into his computer chair. The ominous book of secrets sat on his keyboard.

"My dad left me in Seoul! Just up and left during a line debut without a word! Can you imagine if I did that to him?" Adrien vented to his best friend, a much needed activity when there were so many stresses in his life that he couldn't vent about.

"I had to call Nathalie, back here in Paris, to organise a flight home for me. I haven't seen him since I've got home either. He's just disappeared! Well, if he had Nathalie would have said something," Adrien continued around sips of the most amazing beverage in the world, in his opinion.

Nino couldn't help being side tracked by Adrien's stories. It had been far too long since the pair had been able to spend time together. The last had literally been months ago when they'd both had a lunch time spare.

But Nino couldn't be whisked away with reminiscing and catching up. He had a job now, more important than the two others he held to keep him surviving financially. Plus Wayzz was listening in, expecting him to come clean to the hero in the room.

"Then the producer expected me to make a speech in place of my father, last minute," Adrien had kept going, even as Nino's mind drifted. How was he meant to explain all of this anyway? 

"I did it, but I didn't even have time to write something, it was entirely ad libbed but I managed to seem like I knew--"

"I know you're Chat Noir," Nino burst out suddenly, silencing the blond mid-sentence. There. It was out. Nino felt the world's weight lift from his frame.

Adrien stared into Nino's golden eyes for several long moments in absolute shock, but he soon broke into a large grin. Nino knew instantly he was about to deny it. The picture perfect smile wasn't Adrien's; rather a practiced expression drilled into him.

"That's funny, Nino--"

"No, really," Nino cut him off again. "I know. And don't worry, you weren't reckless or anything. I know because…ah…well I kinda have a kwami now too?" He was leaving a lot out. More than a lot. But Nino hoped that this information would ease Adrien into the subject. Half a minute of staring later and Nino offered a wary smile. He lifted his wrist and parted the bands, exposing the turtle bracelet. 

Wayzz took that as his cue to surface from behind the computer. The green god floated slowly to Adrien and nodded in greeting.

"Master Adrien," he said and smiled. "Nice to see you again."

As Adrien fumbled for words, the black streak of Plagg flew from his bag and tackled Wayzz from the air. The two crashed onto the bed, where Plagg made a show of sitting on the poor turtle's head and laughing. That shocked Adrien out of his bewilderment and he plucked Plagg off of Wayzz, giving him a very stern expression before letting him free.

"Sorry about Plagg," Adrien told Wayzz and looked up from the kwami to Nino with a cringe. "And sorry about lying to you for years."

"Nah," Nino replied, smiling. "It's fine, totally fine. Really. I get why."

Adrien let out a relieved breath and finally mirrored Nino's grin. "I've been dying to tell you, you know," he admitted. "But Ladybug was always adamant it had to be a secret. So what's up with having Wayzz? The master finally decide to retire?"

Wayzz lifted himself into the air, floating between the two young men. Plagg knew instantly at Wayzz's expression.

"Fu's dead, Adrien," Nino spoke for the kwami. "He passed the miraculous to me when he passed away."

The sombre tone didn't go unnoticed and the entire room plunged into morbid silence. Wayzz sailed to Nino's shoulder and found comfort there. The brunet lad gently stroked the creature's head as they watched Plagg slide down to sit on Adrien's knee.

"We need to tell Ladybug," Adrien finally spoke up. There were a lot of things that needed to be done, but that was the most important. "He needs to know."

"I need your help to do that, dude," Nino replied. He spun in his chair and grabbed the book from his desk. "This is how I found out you were a freaking leather loving fury," he teased and showed Adrien the pages of himself. The blond grinned for a moment. "I'll be in there when I get a chance to write it. But Ladybug's pages were stolen, see? Whoever killed Fu took them. We think."

Adrien took the book from Nino to peer at his own image, then flick through and found the missing pages. His fingers grazed the torn paper.

"Before I went to Seoul, Ladybug told me he was being…hunted is the best word," Adrien said and his gaze flicked up to Nino. "He's been followed both as a hero and a civilian. I wanted to help but he didn't give me much of a choice. Bug's kinda stubborn."

"So I've heard. But I need to talk to him."

_____________________

"Is Chat Noir back yet?" Alya asked. She was roving around the kitchen, around Marin who sat in the centre on a stool without his shirt. It was torn and stained, now laying in the garbage.

"He returned yesterday, he called," Marin replied with his teeth gritted.

Alya poured more cheap vodka over the deep scratches on Marin's back. "I hope he's getting back to work," she declared before starting to clean up the mess the latest attack had made of her best friend.

"He said he's-- ow! Got a thing today but will be back on duty-- fuck, Als! Tomorrow," Marin cringed and bit through his words. "What the hell are you doing to me?"

"Seeing what needs stitches," Alya replied and clamped her hands on Marin's withering shoulders to still him. "Which some do."

"Fuck me," the blunet cursed in frustration. "I can't go to the hospital again, they asked too many questions last time!"

"Guess I'm doing it then," Alya said and straightened, moving away.

"You're kidding me, Als." Marin stood, stiffening and gasping in pain, and followed her. "Do you even know how?"

"You underestimate me, Mar. My dad's basically a vet, he taught me."

Marin stared at her for several breaths, watching as she dug around in Marin's sewing basket. She triumphantly pulled out a small, curved needle.

"That's for slip stitches," Marin pointed out and watched as Alya found nylon thread.

"And now it's for skin stitches," Alya proclaimed. "Go lie down and find a pillow to bite. I'm gonna soak these in the vodka."

"She's going to kill me," Marin mumbled as he walked over to the couch and gently lowered himself down. On the old coffee table to the side sat a sympathetic Tikki with a plate of cookies.

"A lot of Ladybugs had to do this in the past, Marin," she tried to comfort him but was only met with a half glare. She held out a cookie towards Marin, who took it begrudgingly. "They couldn't raise suspicion."

"And I bet they lived to the ripe old age of died in child birth," he told his kwami as Alya arrived with a bowl of alcohol and the makeshift medical instruments.

"Ready?"

"Nope. Give me some vodka."


End file.
